The government has confidence in meeting its unemployment rate target of a lower 3.5% in 2021. In the second National Employment Council (NEC) meeting held virtually on Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) estimated that more than 160,000 new jobs would be created in 2021 based on committed investment.

“Although the nation is still under MCO, the Government is optimistic of meeting its targeted [unemployment rate] as the strategic framework formed is in line with the MCO enforcement and the new normal,” the PMO said. “The new normal initiatives include the organising of 200 webinar sessions as well as 180 interview sessions conducted online.”

According to the PMO, the NEC Special Task Force (STF) has rolled out a strategy to address “issues of unemployment and mismatch in jobs via the matching of human capital to industry needs, increasing high-skilled job opportunities, and to strengthen cooperation between academics and industry.”

The government has also welcomed the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and SME Association of Malaysia’s offers to assist in addressing the rise in unemployment through initiatives announced in Budget 2021. This is especially in terms of upskilling and digitalisation.

The finance ministry had projected the decrease of the unemployment rate at 3.5% for 2021 in November of last year. Earlier this week, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) revealed that the unemployment rate for the year of 2020 had settled at 4.5%, the highest rate recorded since 1993.

(Source: The Edge Markets)

• TAGS:
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• Malaysia Unemployment Rate
• MCO 2.0
• Ministry of Finance
• National Employment Council
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• PMO
• Prime Minister's Office
• Unemployment
• Unemployment Rate